Fine Arts
Bars/Clubs
Dining
Music
Movies
Literature
Fitness
Recreation
Attractions
Community
Professionals
Bright Idea: [Check out the Local Music Player located on the 
By CityDaytona Beach
Printer-Friendly Version | Email This Article
Daytona BeachA Series of Fortunate Events
2006-02-01
Article Written by: Risa
Living on the world’s most famous beach means being familiar with a seasonal formula. About half of the year is a flurry of tourists, events and activity and the rest of the year is, well, a little quiet. From the roar of racecars circling the track to flocks of leather clad bikers cruising up the street to college kids partying like it’s 1999, residents are accustomed to the sights and sounds of Daytona Beach’s tourist season. Some locals, however, can be heard grumbling about the constant influx of out of state visitors. Amongst other things, complaints about the traffic and noise can often be heard. Even the city council has been discussing “down sizing” the various events.
The name Daytona Beach has been synonymous with vacationing for a century or more. The Rockefellers, amongst other prominent names in history, had a vacation home here and visited annually. The Daytona area is well known to be “the birthplace of speed”. Two of the city’s best known events, Bike Week and Race Week, date back over 60 years to their origin. Spring Break has been in full swing since the 60’s or before. Families have always enjoyed soaking up the sun and relaxing on the sand on our beaches. Residents may wonder exactly what benefits they and their community receive from all this hustle and bustle.
Polls have shown that an estimated 75 million visitors call on the Daytona area every year. Many of the sight seers and event attendees take home such treasured memories that they return annually, getting to know some of the locals by name and face. For those in the hospitality industry, they become like family who live far away and come to bring smiles and good cheer. Their arrival also marks the coming of various celebrities, music concerts and entertaining activities that might not otherwise find their way to our home.
From a business point of view, statistically speaking, the benefits to be reaped from Daytona’s tourism are enormous. Spring Break and Black College Reunion bring in over 350 million dollars. Race Week, the Daytona original, generates more than 560 million a year. The famous Bike Week and Biketoberfest produces an unbelievable 745 million a year for our community. Those massive amounts don’t even include families looking for a fun week away and the vast amount of visitors from other countries!
Another fact you may or may not be aware of is that a significant portion of the cash that comes in from travelers is allotted to beach maintenance and construction costs that would need to take place with or without all the tourists. This relieves some of the financial tax burdens on local residents for projects in our own community. The seasonal events, as well as the businesses that stay afloat as a result of them, produce a dramatically higher employment rate in the Daytona area than without these happenings. Also, as the locals are aware of, Florida is one of the few states that doesn’t maintain a state personal income tax. The fact is that the great amount of tourist sales and tourist tax revenue is what allows our state to do without that. The benefit of tourists with money to spend goes a bit further than that for each of us. Over 30% of gas and sales tax revenues in this area derive from visitors. This money saves the average local taxpayer about $2,500 in taxes per year. Who doesn’t want to save that kind of money?
As an effort to become exclusively “family oriented”, some city officials have targeted marketing away from the college students and towards parents. For years city officials and some residents stopped welcoming the traditional Spring Breakers to the area. That, combined with the departure of MTV from Daytona’s scene, has seen the Spring Break time of year visitors reduced by more than 65% a year. The result has been devastating for some beach businesses, for which Spring Break alone averages over 30% of annual profit. In addition to the staggering amount of money Bike Week and Biketoberfest generate, the famous occurrences also spawn many biker organized charity drives. That goodwill and the 745 million that flows our way inspires me to deal with a little noise for 14 days a year. Incidentally, law and business officials were quoted as stating that Bike Week 2005 was a complete success. The noise surrounding the hub of biker activities is no louder than the noise of racers circling the track. Hopefully Daytona would never think of downsizing the race events, because they are an intricate part of our rich culture. Perhaps it is time to realize that the whole season of events is as well.
In a 2003 study, Daytona Beach ranked fifth nationally as the best place to work and live. Daytona’s tourism was cited as one of the greatest reasons for that. So find an activity that suits you, be courteous, have tons of fun and embrace what Daytona Beach is meant to be!
